The Vice Prime Minister (VPM), Minister of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Leela Devi Dookun-Luchoomun, unveiled yesterday afternoon, the MPCG-01 Dornier Aircraft during a ceremony organised by the Polytechnics Mauritius at its Montagne Blanche Campus.
The Secretary for Home Affairs Prime minister’s Office, Mr Ravi Meettook, the Chairperson of PM, Professor Theesan Bahorun, the Chief Executive Officer of PM, Mr Yamal Matabudul, and other personalities were also present.
In her address, the VPM expressed pride that Mauritius, today, has an aircraft exposed at the MP Campus in Montagne Blanche for training and display purposes. The launch is a confirmation of the fact that Polytechnics Mauritius is shedding away the traditional mode of learning and paving the way for new programs in line with latest technological advances and this vision will redefine the contours of applied learning, she stated.
She highlighted that practical learning is, now, best described as the solution to reducing skills gaps and that institutions are now aiming to provide real work application.
Government, she underlined, is ensuring that learners are exposed to technical and technological education and is tapping on it as a meaningful viable pathway to technical supervisory and middle management jobs.
The VPM, moreover, emphasised that challenges such as gobalisation, skills shortages and mismatch act as impediment to skills development and upliftment. She stressed the immediate need to rebrand and modernise the technical ecosystem to address the issue of mismatch.
She further indicated that according to international reports, major tectonic shifts will take place within the global economy in the years to come and that nearly 70% of jobs of tomorrow do not exist today. The need for skilling and mindset changes is therefore imperative to be initiated early in the secondary education for sound effectiveness, she remarked.
The Vice Prime Minister restated the intention of government to create the most favourable conditions for every learner to thread on a more flexible, organic, and connected series of pathways.
For Mr Meettook, this project is yet another milestone to sustain Government’s effort and attract the youth in new technical fields and also to ensure skills development in the country. The main objective of the display of the aircraft is to encourage students to join the aircraft field, and develop skills in aircraft maintenance, he pointed out. Aircraft maintenance is a very demanding and important profession and the training on aviation will enable trainees to carry out checks and maintenance works on aircrafts, he said.
As for Professor Bahorun, he dwelt on the remarkable achievements of the Polytechnics Mauritius since its inception in 2017. He reiterated the engagement of MP to continue to build the necessary skills to upskill learners. He added that Polytechnics Mauritius will offer programmes in avionics and aviation which will help position Mauritius as an aircraft maintenance hub in the African region.
